My Crafts

I have had some time this week to actually work on one of my projects that I wanted to complete while on maternity leave. Here is the bow holder that I found on pinterest to hang in Bailey's room. I am really happy with how it turned out!

Now I just have to decide where to hang it.

I also made a wreath for our door this past Saturday while visiting our friends, Jeremy, Mich, Maddie and Jackson, in Cleveland.

Swiss Fest

I realized that I missed blogging about the Swiss Festival this year. It was a lot different this year for me. Besides attending the parades, I mainly stayed in the house. I didn't even get my "roni boli" this year! Bailey loved riding the merry-go-round and the cars this year though. She still talks about the Swiss Festival and her "castle" (one of the rides) being gone.

Grandma came to the parades with us!

Dancin' in the street!

 

This is what Ethan did most of the weekend!

 

 

We loved having Papa & Grandma close by for the weekend!

 

 

Bailey wasn't sure about Hamlet (aka daddy) at first but loves it now!

 

Organization Miller Style

Now that I have two kids, I am experiencing the ever-increasing need to organize our home. I have found myself running all around the house each time that we leave the house and feeling overwhelmed with keeping the house clean. Needless to say, it is driving me crazy, and it has to stop!

Also, I see the increasing need to write things down. I have always been a fan of to-do lists. They are even more important now. The first thing I have done is make this list of cleaning duties for each weekday that I like to do on a weekly basis:

 

This will help me complete my weekly cleaning without feeling overwhelmed by doing it all in one day. Plus, I feel better when our house remains clean and tidy. Of course, making the beds, doing dishes and all the other daily tasks will happen too. I don't feel so lost that I need to write those down.

 

I will share my other organizing projects as I have time to complete them. We FINALLY get Bailey's dresser on Saturday, so I have some organizing to do in her new room. (Yay!) It's good to use my brain on projects I enjoy during this time in my life too! :) Keeps a momma sane!

Ethan's Arrival

So, I am one of those people that love a good labor story. I used to think it was weird, but I know a lot of people will get enjoyment out of this blog. (Yes, I am talking about my MVNU girls!) I also want to remember the day of Ethan's arrival while it is still somewhat fresh in my memory. He is almost 3 weeks old, so I figured I better get on it.

I woke up at 4 a.m. on September 12 thinking that I was sweating profusely and for my third trip to the bathroom of the night. I didn't think much of it other than the fact that it was another annoying pregnancy symptom so I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I then realized my underwear was soaked, but the pants I was wearing weren't wet at all. I thought it was odd and started to question whether my water broke. Of course, my water never broke with Bailey so I had no idea what to expect if it did. It is also my luck that it was just a trickle and not a gush. I started to realize it probably was my water breaking when a wet substance still trickled down my leg even after my third trip to the bathroom. This back and forth questioning as to whether my water broke went on for a good hour.

At 5 a.m. I texted my sister because I knew that she would be getting up for a run. She told me I better go to the hospital so that they can check to see if it was my water breaking. I showered and then woke Scott up at 5:30. I told Scott we didn't need to rush but that I thought my water broke. My mother-in-law came over to stay with Bailey and we took off to the hospital around 6 a.m. I was supposed to work that day so I had to tell my boss and my babysitter that I wouldn't be going to work. As I sent those texts, I prayed I wouldn't have to call them all and tell them "False alarm! I just peed my pants!" Luckily, it was the real thing, but I was concerned about that.

When we got to the hospital they verified that my water did break. I wasn't having consistent contractions and they gave me until 11 a.m. to start progressing on my own. I also learned that if your water breaks they want to have the baby out within 12 hours. I didn't progress on my own so at 11 a.m. they gave me pitocin. I was borderline mordified of pitocin because of the horror stories I have heard, but I clinged to the fact that once I got going Ethan would be here in no time... and that is basically what happened.

The pitocin kicked in around 12:30 p.m. and things started moving. At 1:15 they started putting my epidural in. Gotta be honest... I wish I wouldn't have gotten one. I always thought people that didn't get them were crazy, but my back still feels achy from it almost 3 weeks later. I was just so back and forth about it and if I was going to be in labor all day I wanted one. In true Lauren form though, as soon as they got the epidural in I started telling the nurse that I had to push. (So much for the help of an epidural at this point. I probably did get some relief from the epidural, but I feel like I still felt everything.) I had to wait through a few more contractions to push because I wasn't fully dilated. Once I was fully dilated, I pushed through 2 or 3 contractions and Ethan was out at 2:33 p.m.

It amazes me how different labor was with Bailey and Ethan. One thing that was similar was that Ethan's heart rate kept dropping just like Bailey's did. Bailey came so fast that it wasn't as big of a deal, but I had to wear an oxygen mask with Ethan to keep his heart rate up. I was very nervous that they were going to wheel me in for an emergency c-section at any second because of his heart rate. Luckily, he came out on his own crying and healthy.

I fell in love instantly! It's amazing how you can love two people so much!

Bailey's Big Day

Today was a very big day for Bailey. We started off the morning by heading to Creative Edge in Millersburg to get Bailey's first haircut. My friend, Holly Miller, did the honor of cutting and styling Bailey's hair. Bailey didn't really get excited about getting her haircut, but she didn't really act like she hated it either. So, I'll take it! After Holly cut and curled Bailey's hair, she even put glitter in it! Here is a before and after pic:

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

 

The second big thing that happened today was that Bailey got her big girl bed. To start transitioning her before baby brother's arrival she has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor in her new room, but tonight her new bed was assembled. Bailey is spending her first night in her official big girl bed.

 

All ready for her first night in her big girl bed!

 

 

Bailey loves the big girl bed that her Uncle Ben made her. It'll actually be a bunk bed, but for now, only the bottom bed is assembled. Her new room still needs the rest of the furniture and some decorations, but she loves it. Plus, it makes it easier that there aren't a whole lot of things in her room to distract her from sleeping. I'll post more pictures of her room once everything is in order.

 

Bailey told me the other day that baby brother could have her crib. I love that Bailey loves doing big girl things and is already willing to share with her brother! What a fun day today was for Bailey. I am so thankful that she is a child that adapts well to growing up and changing. It happens so fast!





My Photography Debut: The Anderson's

Last Thanksgiving, we decided that our BIG purchase on Black Friday would be a nice camera so that we could take our own pictures of our kids. (This comes after spending a lot of money on Bailey's 1-year pictures and hardly having anything to show for it.) I finally took the time to learn to use the camera (thanks to my good friend Michelle Underwood) without having to always have it on auto and was able to take pictures for my sister. Here are some highlights:

Now that I have a better handle on how to use the camera, I need to work on my editing skills. This was my first attempt at editing pictures. I think I did pretty well for it being my first time and only having free editing programs that really limit what you can do. I also had to seek Mich's help in removing unwanted persons from the background of the first family picture. I think maybe I see something like Photoshop in my future! :)We'll see...

I really enjoyed taking pictures and editing them. I hope I take the time to do this every now and then. If you read this, I would love to practice on you. :) Thanks to my sister for being the guinea pig! I can't wait until next time!

Bailey Turns 2

It is hard to believe that Bailey is 2 years old. We had her party on 4th of July this year. I don't always want to incorporate her birthday with July 4th every year, but sometimes it is bound to happen when your birthday is that close. My parents and Lesli's family were able to come down for the party, and we had Scott's parents along with Ben and Heidi over for the famous Miller (or Yoder) BBQ chicken that Scott's mom is so good at cooking. Scott's mom, along with her brothers, could cook BBQ chicken on racks for the masses! It's soooo good!

Here are some highlights from the party. I used the manual setting on my camera because I am trying to learn to use it correctly. You'll notice pictures of cake time are missing because Scott didn't check the settings and left it on manual to take pictures inside after I took pictures outside. We are in the learning process. :)

 

Grady showing off his new hair cut!

 Hanging out on the corn hole boards!

Bailey, Gavin & Grady eating their "pigs in a blanket!"

Bailey's first set of wheels!

An intense game of basketball! (The adults may enjoy this present more than the kids!)

The onlookers!

One thing I will always remember about this party was how HOT it was. It was in the 90s, and we actually set a fan in our garage to blow on us. Even with the heat, it was a great time spent with our family!